


Everything I Wanted

by drwhorose



Series: Home [2]
Category: Zombieland (2009 2019)
Genre: Anxiety, Columbus POV, Dirty Talk, Fluff and Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, Intercrural Sex, M/M, POV First Person, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:15:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22940029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drwhorose/pseuds/drwhorose
Summary: “I’m not a kid.”Tallahassee rubbed his eyes and picked up the watch on his nightstand. “Columbus, it’s two in the morning.”“I can’t sleep, and—”“So I don’t get to sleep either, huh?” His words lacked bite, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.*After a close call at Home Depot, Columbus finds his inner strength. Tallahassee shares his bed.
Relationships: Columbus/Tallahassee (Zombieland)
Series: Home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648627
Comments: 7
Kudos: 152





	Everything I Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to part 2 of the series. I don't own any of Zombieland or the products/stores mentioned in this story.

We were out of light bulbs. 

Life in Zombieland lacked most luxuries. Tallahassee and I had managed to find a place with running water and electricity, so perhaps we had become spoiled by our lucky find. So after three long, awkward dinners (even by my standards) in the dark, we geared up for a supply run.

We risked our necks for light bulbs.

Going to Home Depot with Tallahassee is much like seeing lions in their natural habitat while on safari. Not that I’ve ever been to Uganda or Kenya, but he seemed so at home at, well, Home Depot. 

While we searched the aisles for supplies I blurted, “You seem content here.” Mainly because I was trying not to focus on how his t-shirt fit him in all the right places, taut at his biceps and hugging his chest and deceptively broad shoulders. Remembering how incredible it felt to have those arms wrapped around me proved to be most distracting.

“I’m more of a local hardware kinda guy.” He paused, inspecting the garden tools aisle.

“I didn’t realize you were such a strong supporter of small business.”

“Are you trying to be a smartass? Because I’d rather use these tools on the zombies.” Tallahassee picked up a garden hoe and squinted his eyes, mumbling while he read the department signs hanging above us aloud. “But keep running your mouth, and…”

His words, lacking any genuine threat, trailed off as he sauntered down the garden aisle. I think part of him enjoyed my “smartass” remarks, and he seemed to thrive on our verbal sparring sessions. Getting him to react, whether it was a bright smile or an angry glare, were small victories that I held dear. My own version of rule 32. I really enjoyed the little things when it came to Tallahassee. Being the reason for his laughter was extra special. Bonus points for cracking that icy, hardened facade.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy repartee as much as the next guy, but I wanted more. I had a desperate need that ached in my chest, yearning to make him breathless for reasons other than laughing too hard.

It had been almost a week since the first and only time we had been intimate. Like a turtle, I had retreated inside my shell, afraid to ask Tallahassee for more, or ask him what I could do for him...to his toned and golden body. Mostly I feared rejection, nothing new for me. I had spent my adult years, few as they were, in solitude to avoid direct human interaction. After a life without friends, dates or anything to encourage me to socialize, I had built up my walls and hid behind them very well. Like a nerdy ninja.

I worried that he regretted giving me a handjob that night. Or worse, that he didn’t enjoy touching me. That he rued the day he made me come all over him in hot, desperate spurts while I cried out in ecstasy, most likely deafening him.

He tugged the sleeve of my t-shirt. “Light bulbs.”

I glanced at his fingers on the hem of my sleeve and followed the movement as he pointed to the next aisle over. It was quiet, almost too silent, while Tallahassee fingered through the lightbulb selection, a look of contemplation on his face.

And yes, I said 'fingered.' Because it’s all I could think about while I watched him pick up flimsy boxes of light bulbs to stuff into his duffel bag. His fingers, how good...no, how  _ right _ they had felt inside me while his other hand had stroked me. Tallahassee knew just how to touch me, the perfect pressure that had brought me waves of blissful release. No one had ever touched me like that before, had wasted their precious time on me.

Yet now we were shopping at Home Depot, ready for zombies to attack us at every corner, both of us acting like nothing had ever happened. Frankly, it was driving me insane, and making me hornier than ever. Shopping for home essentials and tools never had this effect on me before the apocalypse. To be fair, I had never gone to Home Depot with Tallahassee and his ridiculous bulging biceps before the world as we knew it had ended either.

“Goddamn zombies.” Tallahassee had heard them first. The slushing of decaying flesh, the bloody drool splashing and dripping from their mouths. 

He smiled. “I reckon it’s time for a hoedown.” Then he swung the garden tool behind his head like a baseball bat.

As far as Dad jokes went, it was about average, but puns give me life. I snorted, letting out a squeak of a laugh but then steeled myself after Tallahassee threw me a look that could have turned me to stone if he was a Greek god instead of a Texan. 

I readied my double-barrel shotgun.

A pair of fat zombies pushed each other down the lighting aisle, eager to make us their next meal. Tallahassee held his smile, patiently waiting for his turn to strike.

And strike he did.

With two blows, one straight to the face of Thing One and the back of the head of Thing Two, they were done for. After they had hit the floor with two sickening, squishy thuds, I shot what remained of their skulls.

“Nice double tap, spitfuck.” Tallahassee winked. He was covered in blood and guts, the consequences of getting in close for the kills, but he was still charming as fuck. I soaked up his praise like a pathetic little sponge.

“Uh, thank you.” I blushed harder than a silly schoolboy, running fingers through my messy curls. I would have added something clever or cute, maybe a quip about the rule, but there wasn’t time. A fucking zombie was inches from Tallahassee. She was quiet and quick, and I couldn’t even whisper let alone shout a word of warning.

“What’s the matter?” Tallahassee cocked his head to the left.

My throat seized up so I waved at him to move. It all happened so fast. I squeezed the trigger of my shotgun and didn’t stop shooting until she was motionless on the floor and I ran out of ammo.

“Holy shit, Columbus.” Tallahassee leaned against the shelves, and he let out a shaky exhale. He reached over to me and squeezed my shoulder. 

I was trembling. Even my teeth were chattering while bile rose to my throat. “I almost lost you.” 

The words gushed out of me before I could censor them. But the fear of existing in Zombieland without Tallahassee had shaken me to my core. I had taken him for granted, assumed that I’d be the first one to get killed, not him. Because, let’s be real, Tallahassee was clearly the strong and fit one of our pair. And he could turn anything into a weapon.

My stomach dropped, and a cold sweat prickled my neck while an endless chain of thoughts rattled around in my head. I had been lusting after Tallahassee, wondering if he’d ever touch me again instead of paying better attention to my surroundings. Which was embarrassing sure, but what mortified me was that he could have died thinking that I’d used him to get off last week. He meant so much more to me than that, and I almost lost the chance to tell him.

Tallahassee held my gaze. His eyes were filled with concern, not pity like I had feared. “You did good, kid.” He rubbed my shoulder; the firm pressure on my trembling muscles was exactly what I needed to feel grounded. That everything was okay for the time being. He was safe. The universe decided to bless us with more time together. And I was thankful.

I refused to speak, afraid of what else may slip out. I focused on my breathing and his hand rubbing a small circle on my upper back.

He patted my shoulder. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

I nodded, clutching my shotgun to my chest.

***

“You’re kinda quiet,” Tallahassee said after we finished installing the bulbs in the kitchen, living room, and dining area. “Not that I’m complaining. My ears don’t mind a reprieve from your incessant chatter—”

“I’m impressed by your sudden surge in multisyllabic vocabulary. Maybe I’m rubbing off on you.”

He rubbed his temples. “Fuck you.”

“I’d like that.” I licked my lips, and I probably resembled a cannibal instead of anyone remotely sexy, because well I’ve always been lacking in the sensuality department. It was a silly impulse, but almost losing him made me ignore my inhibitions.

“Is that so?” He rubbed the scruff on his jaw, still soaked in zombie blood. Bless him for not finding me creepy. Or could it be that we were both creepy? “Maybe we should, uh, take this to the bedroom?”

This was everything I wanted. Of course, I’d love to be in his bedroom. The fact that he wanted me there had squashed my earlier fears, but he couldn’t be serious. Smelling like death and covered in blood. Really? I tilted my head to one side waiting for him to correct himself or at least notice he was not hygienic enough for any sort of sexual activity. “Or maybe to the bathroom? You’re filthy.”

“Yeah. I’m dirty, all right.” He nodded with a wink, inching closer to me. 

I recoiled. “No, really. I mean it. Your face is more red than tan right now. Red with blood.”

“Yeah, I’m picking up what you’re throwing down.” He pulled his shirt off. “Let me hop in the shower, and—”

“No, I, uh, well—”

“Goddamn it, Columbus.” He tossed his shirt across the room, and it landed on the dining room floor. I’d have to disinfect that area later. Sooner than later. “Do you want me clean or dirty?”

I wanted to wash him myself, lovingly scrub his sun-kissed skin and rinse away the dried blood. But I’m a coward. And I don’t know how to ask for what I want, even when I really fucking know what I want. So I squeaked like the pathetic mouse that I am, “Clean.”

He nodded at me and slumped off to the bathroom while I chewed my fingernails, trying to remember where I last put the mop.

***

I couldn’t sleep that night. Dinner had been awkward, even with the lights back in business. We ate our humble meal of garbanzo beans and freeze-dried apricots in silence. I did my best not to notice how handsome Tallahassee looked after his shower. A pleasant scent of citrus hit my nose making me want to hold him so I could breathe him in.

But that wasn’t what kept me tossing and turning in bed. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that zombie woman inches from Tallahassee, hungry for his flesh. All the hypothetical questions began to stir trouble in my head.  _ What if I hadn’t been quick enough? What if she bit him before I could even pull the trigger? What if I was forced to shoot him in the face to save him before he could turn?  _

I sat up in my bed and turned on the nightstand lamp, hoping the light would disrupt my thought cycle. I hoped it would turn on at all, but it seemed that Tallahassee really went all out with the bulb installations after his shower. 

An urgency took over, knocking out my fears and worries, and I pulled the cozy warm blanket off myself to step my bare feet on the cold hardwood floor. I had to talk to Tallahassee. Fuck my fears. He needed to know how I felt about him. That I wanted him to be more than someone who’d lend me a hand whenever I craved a touch that wasn’t my own.

I set off into the dark hallway, padding along until I reached his bedroom door. He had taken the master bedroom for himself since he was the oldest of us. I was mad at him at first for hogging the king-sized bed to himself, but now I just wanted to share it with him. Wanted to wrap myself in the same blankets as him, rest my head on his chest.

I opened the door, and some form of bravery flowed through me, pushing me toward his bed. I stood at his bedside, grabbed his upper arm and shook him awake.

“I’m not a kid.” But I had nightmares, prompting me to run to his room like a frightened child, seeking the comfort and reassurance I never received in my own childhood.  _ Great start. _

Tallahassee rubbed his eyes and picked up the watch on his nightstand. “Columbus, it’s two in the morning.”

“I can’t sleep, and—”

“So I don’t get to sleep either, huh?” His words lacked any bite, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

“You call me ‘kid’ all the time, even after I saved your life today...and I’m not. I’m a man...with needs...and I know what I want.”

“Oh, I get it.” Tallahassee sprung to sit in bed. The oversized mattress shook beneath his solid weight. “This is a booty call.” He rubbed his hands together. “I gotcha. Let me warm up, and uh, wake up a little first.”

“No, it’s not a booty call.” I grabbed his hands to stop him from rubbing them with that dirty smile that I wanted to kiss off his face. “I mean, I’d never say no to your hands, or your mouth, or any of you, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“That’s mighty interesting.” Tallahassee began stroking my hand with his large fingers. 

“I don’t want you to think that I’m just using you to get off.” I shivered as he continued to massage my hand.  _ Shit, that feels nice.  _ “I know how to masturbate.”

“But I do it better.” His voice was low and gravelly. 

Everything was a contest with him...but he wasn’t wrong.

“I know what you like. Got it all memorized up here.” He let go of my hand and pointed to his temple. “All your sounds, noises, and reactions. The way your body moves and responds when I touch you.”

I wanted to melt into him. Had he thought that much of me? To observe me so closely just that one time? He wanted to know what gave me pleasure, because he wanted to keep giving me what I craved, what I was afraid to ask for in words.

“You’re more than—”

“You can use me whenever you want, anytime. I’d never complain about that.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. The same guy who bashed in zombie skulls only hours earlier today had saved his gentle side just for me. Maybe I  _ was _ special to him. I sat on the edge of the bed, hoping he wouldn’t let go of my hand.

He pressed another kiss on my skin, this time to my palm. “You do things to me that I can’t quite wrap my head around, Columbus. I’m an experienced guy, mind you, but I’ve never wanted another man quite so intensely.”

“Me? Really?” I wasn't sure how that was possible, but I considered myself a lucky bastard. 

“Well, yeah.” He kissed my fingertips, and I basked in the tender warmth of his lips.

It was my turn to be brave, even if I was losing focus, half-hard by the press of his lips on my fingers. “I don’t want to use you. I want to make you feel good, too.”

“Seems awful generous of you.” He sucked my middle finger between his lips, and a rush of heat shot to my groin.

“You’re so good to me, but I want to…”

He popped my finger out of his mouth. “Go on, don’t be shy around me, Columbus. We’re well past all that. Tell me what you want.”

“I want to... make you come, but I’m,” I cleared my throat. “I’m scared to, uh...do we even have, um, lube?”

“You look so pretty with your cheeks all flushed like that.” He ruffled my hair, and a shiver ran through me. I wanted to see him blissed out, make him a groaning mess. His eyes sparked with blue lightning. “I’ve got lube in my nightstand, for those lonely nights when I just want to get it over with quick and get some shut-eye.”

“Oh?” I was kinda hoping I could just suck him off even though I had no idea what I was doing. How could I offer that without knowing how to do it right? I’d mess it up somehow. 

“Uh, Columbus? Did I freak you out?”

“No, it’s just... I liked your fingers, um, inside me, but anything, uh, thicker, might be too much.”

Tallahassee stroked his jaw. “I reckon that’s the most you’ve ever dirty talked before.” 

I winced. “No good?”

“Kinda hot, actually.” He placed his large hand over mine. “Do you trust me?” 

“Yes.” No hesitation on my part. I trusted him completely.

“I’ll get the lube, and you…” He tugged at my pajama shirt and traced a finger along my collarbone. “You get naked.” He rolled over to the right side of the bed, black briefs hugging his ass to perfection, and opened the nightstand drawer. “I think we can try something without, you know.”

“Penetration?” I twitched.

“Yeah.” He chewed his bottom lip like he was thinking really hard about something. “Now take off those pajamas and lay on your side.”

I obeyed, fumbling with the buttons on my pajama top. He rummaged through the drawer, ass in the air waiting to be smacked.  _ As if I had the nerve…  _ Cursing under his breath, he tossed a fountain pen, a pad of paper, and body lotion onto the floor while I slipped off my pants and boxers.

“Good.” Tallahassee rolled over to me and kissed the back of my neck as I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers absently playing with the comforter. “Now lay that fine ass of yours on my bed.”

He watched me sprawl out, and I loved how his eyes clouded with desire. I still couldn’t figure out what it was about me that did it for him. Was it my unruly mop of hair? My scrawny legs? My winning personality?

Then he pounced, grabbing my upper arm so that he could bite and suck at my neck and shoulder. His breath was hot and ragged on my skin. 

I yelped when he squeezed my ass with a firm grip of his hand.

He slid in close beside me, tucking his right arm underneath me. He stroked my chest, ghosting over my nipples until they were hard. My heart pounded, and I wondered if he could feel it hammering against his fingers.

I gasped when he pressed his dick against the cleft of my ass. He was so hard and smooth and long. I pushed against him, rolling my hips, trying to find a rhythm. Shit, I ached to feel him come all over me. A reminder that he was safe, alive, strong.

“Look at those hips go.” He grabbed my left hip and dug his fingers into the crease there. “Let’s try this and see.”

He moved his left hand, cupping my ass and then stroking my inner thighs. “This okay, if I fuck you right here?” He slid a finger along my taint and then squeezed my upper thigh as if to clarify.

_ Gods, yes. It was more than okay.  _ Coherent words were failing to come to mind as he massaged the tender skin between my dick and my balls _.  _ “Y-yes.”

I heard the cap click as he opened the lube. He let out a sigh as he stroked his length, and I wish I could have watched him touch himself, wondering how the pleasure played on his face. 

His hand was still slick when he gripped my hips and pushed himself between my thighs. “Fuck, that’s good and tight.”

Before I could vocalize my agreement, he grasped my dick with his slippery fingers and started stroking me in time with his thrusts.

I glanced at his hand on my dick, watching the slide of his hard length as it rubbed under my balls. “You don’t have to touch me.”

“Like hell.” The rhythm of his thrusts picked up speed, and he grunted, nipping at my neck and then my earlobe.

It was almost too much, his hand jerking and squeezing me, his dick between my thighs, massaging my balls…his rasping groans. I needed to hold on. Somehow. I wanted him so desperately to come, and I was afraid he’d stop if I blew my load first.

“You feel so good,” he growled in my ear. “Those thighs of yours were made for fucking.”

I gasped as he pushed even harder, tugging my dick while filthy words spewed from his mouth. 

“I’d like to get my tongue all up in there. Taste you. Lick that pretty hole of yours.”

I was hoping one day to cash in on that offer. Never thought anyone would want to put their mouth on me  _ there.  _ Even if it was nothing but words, I reveled in them. 

My body trembled as he kept talking, his words slurring together as they came out slow and languid like fresh honey. “Best you taste good, too. I wonder what pretty noises you’d make if I shoved my tongue right inside you. ”

I wasn’t going to last with Tallahassee dirty talking like a champ while bringing us both to the brink. 

“Oh, fuck, Tallahassee.” I shuddered while I came all over his hand. 

He grabbed my shoulder without missing a beat, thrusting between my thighs, while pleasure washed over me. 

“Oh, Columbus. Fuck, you’re beautiful.” He gasped, his body shaking. Liquid heat spurted between my legs as he jerked behind me, riding out his quiet orgasm. A kiss on my shoulder blade warmed me and then he collapsed, his body heavy against mine. 

I hoped he would take his time and not be in a hurry to wash up. Nothing else could compare to being this close, sharing the silence with him, listening to our shallow breaths ease into a steady rhythm.

Tallahassee shifted beside me after a while, and I turned on my elbow to face him. He looked wrecked, but in the best way possible. His face was flushed, sweat beading on his forehead. His eyes looked peaceful, content.  _ I did that for him. _

I kissed his bare chest, tasting the saltiness of his sweat on my lips and tongue. “You take such good care of me.” 

I wanted to ask why I got to be so lucky, why he chose to save such tenderness for me. It was the end of the world, and he still thought it was worthwhile to make love. Not to fuck like it was a meaningless distraction or a way to release tension. 

“We take care of each other.” He pulled me in closer, holding me steady. 

So this is how security felt. A warm strength that radiated from my chest to my limbs. Nothing held me back right now, not even myself. “Can I sleep here for the rest of the night?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Course you can.”

Relief washed over me in gentle waves. I cuddled against him, nuzzling my nose against his chest. His body relaxed, but his arms held their grip on me. 

I wanted this, even just holding each other every night until our luck ran out would be enough. I had thrown off my armor and tossed it aside to collect dust. But there was so much more I wanted to say, questions I wanted to ask.

“What?” he asked, rubbing my back.

“Huh?”

“You seem like you’re fixing to say something. Shoulders are all tense again.” He squeezed my shoulder, digging his fingers into my knots.

It felt good to have someone call me out like that. He picked up on all my tics and signs of anxiety. I hoped he would never stop. 

“I can’t stop thinking about… What if I wasn’t fast enough today? What if I lost you?”

“You were incredible, and I’m here. I’ll never go down without a fight. Not against those pieces of shit. It’s all right.” He rubbed my back, fingers tracing along my spine.

“Sometimes I fall apart like I can’t control these questions in my head. All the what if’s.”

“You know something?” His hand slid up to my neck. “Tacos fall apart, too, but everybody loves them. Well, at least back when everybody was still alive.” He pulled me in closer. 

“That’s so…”  _ sweet.  _ At least, that’s what I wanted to say. But I doubt Tallahassee wanted to be called that. He was a tough guy who only showed his soft underbelly to me. I didn’t want to push my luck. 

“Man, I’d kill for a taco.”

I let out a small laugh, worries wiped clean for now at least. Drowsiness tugged at me, and my shoulders loosened.

“I’d kill for you, too. Already have more times than I can count.” He kissed the top of my head. “And you’ve killed for me, too. So it’s like I said, we take care of each other.”

Something about that triggered the questions again, but this time they were good questions, not nerve-wracking hypothetical ones. “I, uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Ask away. I’m in a damn good mood.”

“Can I sleep here every night?” I whispered my question into warm skin. 

He tugged at my chin, tilting my head back, and met my eyes with his blue stare. “Every night.” 

I held his gaze until my eyelids grew heavy. His hand brushed the hair off my forehead, and he cleared his throat. 

“Did I ever tell you about the time I took out those zombies in the diner? Had only a fork, a steak knife, and a coffee pot at my disposal.”

“No.” I had heard the story before, but I could never pass on one of Tallahassee’s tall tales.

“Cuddle in close. This is a good one.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, squeezing me.

I listened to his story until his words blended together in my mind. The slow, gentle rhythm of his voice was lulling me to sleep. This zombie apocalypse life wasn’t too bad. Don’t get me wrong, it was terrifying at times, but it was also pretty fucking incredible.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this one.


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